4 Adjustments the Seattle Seahawks Must Make During Bye Week

After a disconcerting 3-3 start to the year, the Seattle Seahawks finished the 2014 regular season on a six-game winning streak, winning nine of their last 10. The winning streak was highlighted by the team's historically great defense allowing an average of 6.5 points per game.

An argument can be made that the Seahawks faced the likes of Drew Stanton, Colin Kaepernick (twice), Mark Sanchez, Ryan Lindley and Shaun Hill. However, the competition isn't likely to be much better for Seattle's first playoff game.

The Seahawks' potential opponents following their bye week are Cam Newton, Matthew Stafford or Stanton/Lindley. While the Carolina Panthers, Detroit Lions and Arizona Cardinals each field subpar scoring offenses, the Seahawks have other things to focus on until they know exactly who their opponent will be.

Keep Penalties Down

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For the second season in a row the Seattle Seahawks finished the regular season with more penalties than any other team. After averaging eight penalties per game in 2013, the reigning Super Bowl champions upped the ante and averaged 8.1 penalties per game this year.

In the team's favor is the fact that it has racked up noticeably fewer penalties in home games. With the Seahawks earning home-field advantage through the playoffs, the difference in taking 9.9 penalties per game in road contests compared to 6.4 at home is significant.

While a high penalty count did not prove damning a year ago it is the calls, or lack thereof, against Seattle's opponents that exacerbates the situation. The Seahawks' opponents have averaged the fewest penalties per game (4.4) this season. 

Head coach Pete Carroll had a bit of fun in commenting on the subject following Seattle's two-penalty victory over the St. Louis Rams, per Terry Blount of ESPN: “We finally only had two penalties. We made the turn. It’s a big improvement and we’ll keep working to get that down to none sometime." 

Seattle will need to keep its penalty count in line with its season-long average in home games to stop the game from being swayed in favor of visiting teams. 

Pass Protection

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Anyone watching the Seahawks throughout the season would have noticed Russell Wilson was constantly under siege, outside of a few games. Wilson was pressured on nearly half of his dropbacks, 46 percent to be exact, finishing with the highest percentage of pass plays under pressure.

Though Wilson has exhibited a rare ability to avoid oncoming rushers, he was still sacked 42 times this season. Only five other quarterbacks were sacked more times than Wilson. While I cannot expect the current players to suddenly become a better pass-blocking unit, players recovering from injury should help.

Having center Max Unger back in the lineup is no guarantee of improved protection for Wilson, but his presence should certainly help provide more consistency in run blocking. With Seattle being such a run-oriented team, improving on the offense's strength only stands to benefit the passing game as well.

Utilize a Faster Paced Offense

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This may go hand-in-hand with the Seahawks' need to improve its pass protection, but shortening Russell Wilson's dropbacks and forcing him to get rid of the ball more quickly are also key to the team's success. Wilson has been an undeniably savvy passer this season, particularly when he gets rid of the ball in under 2.5 seconds.

The Seattle quarterback has been brought down just four of the 42 times he's been sacked this season when he holds on to the ball for 2.5 seconds or less. He's also managed to complete 74.3 percent of his passes and earned a quarterback rating of 113.2.

When Wilson holds on to the ball any longer, both of the latter stats fall precipitously. His completion percentage drops all the way to 50 percent while his quarterback rating dips to 73.8. There's various reasons the third-year pro may hold on to the ball longer, but if Seattle can incorporate more hurry-up offense with two- or three-step drops, it should be to the offense's benefit. 

Improve the Pass Rush

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The Legion of Boom gets a lot of credit for the success of the Seattle Seahawks defense, and it is warranted, but a lot of what factored into the defense's improved play down the stretch came from another unit. 

Over the first 10 weeks of the season the Seahawks had gathered just 13 sacks, as opposed to the 24 sacks the team has racked up during its current six-game winning streak. Michael Bennett and Cliff Avril have been especially dominant throughout the year, but as the season has worn on teammates have begun to join in.

Defensive coordinator Dan Quinn has increased the number of times he blitzes a linebacker to help aid the once struggling pass rush. In addition, the unfortunate injury to Brandon Mebane opened the door for Jordan Hill to see increased playing time and he's been an outright surprise.

Hill totalled six sacks at defensive tackle, crushing the pocket and giving opposing quarterbacks no room to step up to avoid other rushers. The Seahawks can ill-afford to lose momentum with the pass rush and should be sure to continue sending extra rushers more often than in prior seasons.

*All penalty statistics gathered from Team Rankings. All other statistics gathered from Pro Football Focus (subscription required).